Raja Bell hit Kobe Bryant with a Paul Orndorff clothesline last night, en route to a 114-97 Suns victory over the Lakers. As I said about the Reggie Evans violation… the NBA has set the bar pretty low for what deserves a suspension. You can find video at the above link.
If Ron Artest deserved one, if James Posey deserved one… then so does Bell. Fair is fair. I don’t think Bell actually deserves to be suspended, but… it’s relative. Compared to what the other guys did, yes, he should sit for a game. In an NBA run by me, he probably wouldn’t… neither would Artest, and Posey… I dunno, I go back and forth on that one. I think the only two guys that have truly earned suspensions in the playoffs so far are Udonis Haslem and Reggie Evans… and only one of them got it.
If the NBA doesn’t suspend Bell, they’re saying, in essence, “You know, maybe we got a little carried away earlier with these punishments.” That would be the only way to explain it if Bell didn’t get a one-game ban, and Reggie Evans got nothing. By the way, I still can’t believe you can yank a guy’s ballsac and get away with it. It’s a tough spot for the NBA… if they do suspend him, they get ripped for sending the message that it’s better to wrench a guy’s marbles than it is to hit someone in the chest. And if they don’t, they’re being entirely hypocritical.
As for post-game quotes, here are two, and they’re both bad news for the Suns. First, Raja:
“It’s been a pretty physical series, and at that point in time I had caught another elbow in the jaw and I lost my head and overreacted to it,” Bell said. “It could have cost my team and for that I’m sorry.”
Well, that’s pretty much an admission that he lost it and clotheslined the guy on purpose, right? I appreciate the honesty, but if he wanted to avoid further punishment, something like, “I went for the ball, we got tangled up, it’s a physical game, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone” probably would’ve been better. And now, Kobe:
“That’s how I grew up playing basketball in Philadelphia,” he said. “I love playing that style. It excites me more than anything.”
That’s not good for the Suns. Two things can happen when Kobe gets excited… 1) you get forcefully bent over a hotel room bed, and Kobe takes what he wants. Or 2) he kills you in Game Six.
Anyway, the Suns made the series 3-2 last night, so it heads back to LA, where the Lakers will have a chance to wrap it up… presumably without Raja Bell, who they would miss dearly. But the good news for all of us is that there’s some healthy dislike built up in this series, and it’s going at least six games. I’d love to say that this is easily the best first round series in recent memory, but Heat/Bulls and Cavs/Wizards have been almost as fascinating, and Spurs/Kings still has a chance to get there. This first round has been unbelievable.
And Kwame Brown, I hope you’re innocent.
profiled
Charles Barkley pointed it out last night. Getting Kobe pissed off and having him take over the game plays a hell of a lot more into the Suns hands then him playing his new “unselifsh” self. Kobe averaged what 43 points against the Suns during the season, and look at all the good that did. If Kobe takes 35 shots, the game won’t be slow, the game will be fast, and that spells disaster for the Lakers. Also, if Kobe isn’t shooting a lot, does the lack of Bell guarding him make as much difference as it would seem? It could, but at the end of the day, Odom, Kwame and the other Lakers role players are going to be the ones to decide this series, not Kobe.
Also why no mention of the investigation of Sexual Assault on Kwame Brown? It’s going to be a huge factor even if nothing comes of it, I can’t imagine keeping focused with that hanging over your head (although to be fair it didn’t affect his shooting all that much to be honest in Game 5).
May 3, 2006 at 8:22 am
Ted
Agreed on the exciting first round MJD. When was the last time the first round was exciting. Ever since they extended it to best of 7 it’s been excruciating but this year is bucking the trend. Agreed with profiled (and Barkley) that pissing off Kobe is not all that bad.
May 3, 2006 at 8:31 am
DookieStyle
Glad there were wrestling references here…cause that’s how exciting the playoffs are.
They may “plot” you and give you storylines, but it’s still gonna be the Villain (Detroit) vs the Hero (Tim Duncan) in the final.
May 3, 2006 at 10:07 am
Rob
The surprising quality of the first round perplexes me. Is there suddenly that much parity in the NBA, or is it just an odd quirk of good teams playing bad teams that somehow matchup perfectly?
Chicago-Miami is a great example. Somehow Chicago is able to do things against Miami (beat down Wade, frustrate Shaq, give Van Gundy the giggles) that Washington or Milwaukee probably couldn’t.
May 3, 2006 at 10:42 am
jeff
“Two things can happen when Kobe gets excited… 1) you get forcefully bent over a hotel room bed, and Kobe takes what he wants. Or 2) he kills you in Game Six.” – That might have to go on the MJD hall of fame for me… I don’t feel strongly about either team, but I guess I would look forward to a Clippers-Lakers series.
May 3, 2006 at 6:38 pm
bill
“Also why no mention of the investigation of Sexual Assault on Kwame Brown? It’s going to be a huge factor even if nothing comes of it, I can’t imagine keeping focused with that hanging over your head (although to be fair it didn’t affect his shooting all that much to be honest in Game 5).”
anybody else remember the games kobe (and the lakers) had after spending the mornings in eagle county? it probably wouldve done them some good if court hearings carried into the series with detroit
May 3, 2006 at 6:40 pm